PENNSYLVANIA -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton is closing almost half of its churches, reducing the number of parishes from 209 to 118.

In a statement, Bishop Joseph Martino said the restructuring plan affects every single parish in the 11-county diocese in some way. The drastic cut is blamed on a declining priest population and fewer financial resources.

Parishes will follow one of three models. One is a partnership, where parishes retain their own pastors, but work in cooperation with neighboring groups. A second is linked parishes, where two or more use the same pastor. And the third is the consolidated parish, which will combine them into one.

An example is churches in Sayre, Bentley Creek, South Waverly and Athens will merge by July, forming a new church at the Epiphany site in Sayre. And in mid-year 2010, the Diocese will consolidate parishes in Friendsville, Little Meadows, St. Joseph and Montrose. These are just a few of the changes in the works for the Scranton Diocese.

To find out whether or not your town's church will be affected, visit dioceseofscranton.org.